Formulary
Definitions and Criteria for Categorisation of Medicines
Wirral Place are under Pan Mersey Area Prescribing Committee and follow the Pan Mersey formulary.
RAG Rejection or Repatriation Template Letters
The following letters can be used as a template by primary care prescribers to send to consultants when a request is made to prescribe a RED (Hospital Only) drug or a drug which requires repatriation back to the specialist prescriber.
RAG Rejection Letter
RAG Repatriation Letter
Further information regarding the process for review and categorisation, including devices, can be found in the policy for the Pan Mersey Area Prescribing Committee.
For Pharmaceutical Reps/Industry queries, please direct through Pan Mersey Area Prescribing Committee.
Key to recommendations
Red Drugs which should be prescribed only by a specialist clinician.
Amber medicines are considered suitable for primary care prescribing following varied levels of specialist input.
- Amber Recommended requires specialist assessment and reccomendation to GP to prescribe in Primary Care.
- Amber Initiated requires specialist initiation of prescribing. Prescribing to be continued by the specialist until stabilisation of the dose and the patient's condition is achieved and the patient has been reviewed by the specialist.
- Amber Patient Retained requires specialist initiation of prescribing. Prescribing to be continued by specialist until stabilisation of the dose and the patient's condition is achieved and the patient had been reviewed by the specialist. Patient remains under the care of specialist (i.e. not discharged) as occasional specialist input may be required.
Purple Medicines are considered suitable for Primary Care prescribing and/or management, following specialist initiation of therapy, with on-going communication between the Primary Care prescriber and specialist, within the framework of a Shared Care Agreement.
Grey These medicines are still being evaluated according to local processes and a decision on whether to commission their use has not yet been made. They should not be prescribed in any setting.
Black Medicines not recommended for use because of lack of evidence of clinical effectiveness, cost prioritisation or concerns over safety.
Green Medicines for which primary care prescribers would normally take full responsibility for prescribing and monitoring. Green status does not imply that a medicine is superior to existing first-line drugs or is a recommended formulary choice.